BIOFEEDBACK FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS
In today’s competitive educational landscape, students often face immense pressure, which can hinder their academic performance and overall well-being. However, biofeedback presents a promising solution to this challenge. By leveraging various biofeedback modalities, students can manage stress effectively and enhance their learning outcomes. In transitioning from traditional methods, biofeedback empowers students to gain real-time insights into their physiological states. As a result, this leads to improved focus, emotional regulation, and academic success. This article explores how incorporating biofeedback into education can transform the learning experience, making it both more enjoyable and productive.
Education activities require new and more complex forms of voluntary behavior from the child and adolescent and the ability to manage their mental processes, including attention. When enrolled in primary school, the child usually does not have these skills. As a result, even children with average or high intelligence may experience difficulties learning to read and write, which can hinder their ability to cope with school tasks, leading to low academic performance. Moreover, as students advance to more complex levels of school and university education, the educational load increases and the volume of requirements grows.
According to numerous data, up to 80% of schoolchildren and students are constantly or often experiencing academic stress. Under these circumstances, there is a further deterioration in the psychological and physical health indicators of schoolchildren and students. Academic performance also decreases, over-exhaustion develops, and anxiety increases. In this condition, it is a possible development of addiction to bad habits, for example, gaming or other addictions.
Understanding the Causes of Education Stress and How to Overcome It
If educational stress exceeds adaptation, then there is a “break-up” of psychological and physical homeostasis and the formation of a “traumatic dominant” in the cerebral cortex at the beginning. This has demonstrative-protective functions, which show the disruption of the body through a specific set of clinical manifestations.
However, today, a new technology called biofeedback, based on the brain’s neuroplasticity, can effectively assist schoolchildren and students in adapting to the educational process.
The procedure of a biofeedback session consists of registering the following physiological parameters alone or in combination:
It uses special equipment and converts these parameters to audio and video signals that reflect the state of the recorded parameters.
How it Works?
These signals are transmitted to the person (such as schoolchildren or students) through either sound or video on a computer screen, which creates a game-like environment. If the child normalizes their performance, then the game continues. However, if the performance deviates from the norm, the game stops. To resume the game, the child must first normalize their performance.
The normalization of the parameters that push the game to play again is managed subconsciously. Due to this game form of the biofeedback method, it is possible to have the motivation and desire of children to participate in the process actively. This motivation helps them achieve good results, normalizing the changes in the body under the influence of educational stress.
The primary purpose of a biofeedback session is to learn how to control physiological parameters and to consolidate these skills for effective use in everyday life. Achieving a long-lasting effect typically takes 10 to 20 sessions, each lasting between 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the specific tasks involved. Once the biofeedback course is completed, the individual acquires enduring skills in self-regulation and control.
The indications for the appointment of a biofeedback session
- the distraction of attention or easy distractibility,
- difficulties in the concentration of attention,
- difficulties in memorizing educational material,
- difficulties in reading or writing,
- difficulties in learning foreign languages,
- difficulties in mathematics (counting, solving mathematical problems, logical thinking),
- fatigue or drowsiness during educational activity performance,
- restlessness, irritability, nervousness, or restless behavior when performing educational activities or tasks.
Expecting results in education performance and reaching academic success after biofeedback
After completing an entire course of biofeedback, it is possible to have the following results:
- a significant improvement in memory performance and concentration of attention (good and quick memorization of educational material),
- willing and calm execution of educational load,
- increasing the reading skills (reading speed and purity), writing skills (writing speed and literacy),
- improvement and speeding up of counting skills, computing, solving mathematical problems, logical thinking,
- the disappearance of drowsiness and fatigue during academic tests or any educational activity performance,
- increasing academic performance and marks,
- accelerated and adequate preparation for academic exams and their successful delivery with higher marks,
- increasing the earlier (before the session of biofeedback) absent or decreased abilities for daily activity organization and discipline,
- Development of skills for planning various educational and developmental activities, including education, sports performance, and other spheres of activity.
Biofeedback and Neurofeedback Home Use Devices for Academic Success
In the market, many devices today have been made for home use to improve academic performance – to increase attention and concentration, to improve emotional state, to decrease educational stress or stress during academic exams, to increase academic performance, etc. However, it should be noted that not all devices are tested. On our website’s “Biofeedback HUD” page, you can read more about tested and effective devices for biofeedback and learn in which cases it can be used. Also, you can understand how they use and interpret the results.
